Wojciechowski: NFL outsmarted itself with OT change
The NFL adopted a new overtime format for the postseason, but not for the regular season. The official explanation was the possibility of player injuries. Gene Wojciechowski takes exception:
But what about the possibility of injuries during those near-worthless preseason games? If NFL owners are so concerned about player safety, then deep-six half of those exhibition games. But they won’t because those games are financial rainmakers.
Anyway, you can’t have it both ways. You can’t say you’re protecting your players in the regular season, but then not protect them in the preseason. And you can’t have one set of overtime rules in the postseason and another set in the regular season.
He goes on to explain how the different rules for the regular season could affect the postseason:
But what about the risks to the integrity of the game and the playoff process? By limiting the new OT rules to the postseason, a team could be eliminated from the playoff chase by a coin toss and ensuing field goal — the very scenario that prompted such league power brokers as Indianapolis Colts president Bill Polian to switch sides and push for the rules change.
So NFL owners are essentially admitting the old rule was flawed, and the new rule is better; yet they’re still keeping the old rule even though it could affect which teams can play under the new rule? How can so many smart owners make such a basic mistake?
As I’ve said before, the new system is better than the old system, but that isn’t saying much.
Follow the Scores Report editors on Twitter @clevelandteams and @bullzeyedotcom.
“And you can’t have one set of overtime rules in the postseason and another set in the regular season.”
Yeah, ummmm…Woj? The NHL has a different set of overtime rules for the regular season and postseason and it works just fine for them. So yes, you can.
The new system is better than any proposals we’ve seen so far.
Of course you can. But it’s stupid.
Considering the NHL playoffs are the best and most exciting, I’ll take stupid.
By the way, there’s a flaw in your comparison — the NHL plays a sudden death period in the playoffs, but a vast majority of time, each team is going to get multiple possessions of the puck to have an opportunity to score. Sudden death with multiple possessions usually equals excitement.
Besides, overtime excitement and whether or not OT is consistent from regular season to postseason are two different issues.
I thought everybody pretty much knows and acknowledges that limiting the rule change to the postseason is just a “tryout” and that they’re going to implement the rule in the regular season after trying it out in this year’s postseason.
That’s smart — try something new in the postseason when nothing’s on the line. The regular season is what really matters.
There might not even be an OT game in the postseason. This is just silly.